regional formation and development studies - Klaipėdos universitetas

Carolin Kuhn, Ilona Dubra, Erika Sumilo
INFLUENTIAL DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATION: CASE STUDY OF LATVIA AND GERMANY
INFLUENTIAL DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATION:
CASE STUDY OF LATVIA AND GERMANY
Carolin Kuhn 1 , Ilona Dubra 2 , Erika Sumilo 3
University of Latvia (Latvia)
ABSTRACT
Innovation is often recognized as a vital source of competitive advantage for business. Taking into account the conditions of increasing
globalization at a high level of intensity as well as a rapidly changing technological landscape and also continuous customer
demands for new products and services on the modern market, it is needed to assume that businesses have to innovate in order to
survive and prosper in the contemporary environment. In the context of the paper at hand the main attention is given to the analysis
of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the concept of innovation. There were applied such economic science research methods as
monographic, grouping, reference, generalization, graphical analysis and content analysis.
KEY WORDS: innovation, growth, Germany, Latvia, competitiveness, enterprise.
JEL codes: A11; A12; A13; H52; M21; O16; O31; O32; O34; O38; O52
Introduction
Unfortunately, there is a lack of innovative entrepreneurial activity in the context of the Latvian economic
sector. According to Eurostat latest data, Latvia counts with the poorest ratio of the innovative enterprises and
this fact may result in low business environment at all and for sure in dramatic threats and hard national economic
sector stroke. Taking into account Germany’s successful innovation policy and state leader positions in
the sphere of innovation, it is useful to organize a deep research of German enterprises innovation experience
in order to bring to light influential determinants on innovation creation and, in consequence, to apply these
factors and make use of the research in order to foster innovative activities in Latvian enterprises. The object of
the paper is the influencing factors of enterprise innovation in Germany and in Latvia. The purpose of this paper
therefore is to determine these in general and then to compare the specific situation in Germany and Latvia.
The main tasks of the paper are stated as follows:
• y to investigate the key theoretical aspects of the concept of innovation;
• y to provide a review of the empirical findings of factors impacting on innovation;
• y to examine innovation determinants in Germany;
• y to examine innovation determinants in Latvia.
1
Carolin Kuhn – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, PhD student, Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Scientistic interests:
Organizational culture, organization theory, innovation management, marketing.
E-mail: carolinkuhn@web.de
Tel.: +49 177 8747249.
2
Ilona Dubra – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, PhD student, Mg. oec. Scientistic interests: human
capital, organizational culture university industry linkages, innovation economics.
E-mail: ilona.dubra@inbox.lv
Tel.: +371 264 079 72.
3
Erika Sumilo – University of Latvia, Economics and management faculty, Dr. oec. Prof. Scientistic interests: Human development,
economic history, international economics, international business, cross-cultural business relations.
E-mail: sumilo@lu.lv
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